Man says DA race distracted lawyer

Man convicted of rape says his attorney was preoccupied during trial

Published 9:19 pm, Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Attorney Lee Kindlon, who is a Democratic candidate for Albany County District Attorney, holds a press conference on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. to respond to attacks on his character and work ethic. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Attorney Lee Kindlon, who is a Democratic candidate for Albany...

Attorney Lee Kindlon, who is a Democratic candidate for Albany County District Attorney, holds a press conference on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. to respond to attacks on his character and work ethic. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Attorney Lee Kindlon, who is a Democratic candidate for Albany...

Lee Kindlon, candidate for Albany County DA, speaks at a press conference in Albany, N.Y. Feb. 20, 2012. Kindlon resigned his post in the county?s Alternate Public Defender?s Office Tuesday, a week after his party backed incumbent David Soares. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union archive)

ALBANY — A man facing up to 50 years in prison for rape is apparently very worried over who will be the Albany County district attorney for the next four years.

Joseph Sposito, 28, who was convicted in March of raping a woman in Loudonville in 2010, wrote to the Times Union expressing deep concern that his lawyer, Lee Kindlon, could be elected as the county's top prosecutor. Kindlon is challenging incumbent District Attorney David Soares — whose office successfully prosecuted Sposito — in a Democratic primary this September.

"I don't want the public to make the same mistake I did by having him represent such a vital post," Sposito wrote in a letter mailed from the Albany County jail last month. He claimed Kindlon was so preoccupied with his race for district attorney that the lawyer checked emails during a portion of the trial when DNA evidence was being presented. He said Kindlon also took phone calls from his campaign manager.

"I was foolish to believe Mr. Kindlon was actually going to put forth the effort I deserved," Sposito wrote. "I bought into the fact he said his run for the DA's office would not affect my trial. ... This man was consumed by his campaign, not my defense."

Sposito has since hired Troy attorney E. Stewart Jones to handle his sentencing and appeal.

In an e-mailed response, Kindlon stated: "I can't comment on a letter I haven't seen or the specifics of the case. But I can say that I pour my heart and soul into representing my clients every day. There is no 'off' switch for me. If I sacrificed anything, it was the time I would have spent with my wife and my three young boys. I got up early and I stayed up late. That's my dedication to my job."

Kindlon represented Sposito as a private lawyer, but was employed by the county at the time as an assistant conflict defender.

His work during the Sposito trial recently fell under scrutiny from the county's new conflict defender, Sherri Brooks, who had been Kindlon's supervisor. Brooks examined Kindlon's time sheets for any possible conflicts between his private and public work. Kindlon had billed the county for work for eight days during the trial.

He resigned from the county post, which he had held since 2007, as Brooks' inquiry was under way. He said he wanted to devote more time to his campaign.

Kindlon sent Brooks a letter on April 3 detailing the county work he did on eight of the days he defended Sposito. The lone exception was one day when Kindlon used personal time.

The lawyer noted that one night after trial, he spent three hours in Bethlehem Town Court to work for the conflict defender's office. He stated he also contacted clients, worked on motions and composed letters — all as part of his public job.

In his letter to Brooks, Kindlon noted he did most of the prep work for the Sposito trial "months in advance" because the case was initially supposed to start in January.

On Wednesday, Kindlon campaign spokesman Eddie Ayala noted that 181 emails documenting Kindlon's time as a public employee are now on the campaign website.

"It's unfortunate but not surprising that now, in the midst of the political silly season, some would question Lee's character and work ethic," Ayala stated.

Jones, when reached by phone Wednesday, backed his fellow attorney's use of time during Sposito's trial.

"Was what Lee was doing unusual? Absolutely not," Jones said. He said when lawyers have a trial they devote most of their time to it, but still work nights and weekends on other cases.

Asked if he would argue that Kindlow was an ineffective lawyer based on his use of time during the case, Jones replied, "Not simply on that basis."

As for the letter from Sposito, Jones said, "I have not known anyone who was convicted of a crime who was happy about it. We have been down that road where a convicted defendant has complained. It's natural to be angry when your facing the consequences that (Sposito) has faced, and he's a good kid, too."

He said his client should not have sent a letter to the newspaper.

"I think it's inappropriate for someone who is still facing sentencing to take his forum public," Jones said. "I regret that this happened. It never would have happened had he discussed it with us."